Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Photo by myself in Park Slope, Brooklyn, at 7th Avenue and 9th Street.

I am digging into my photo stash today - the skies have been gray, drab and rainy.

This photo was taken around July 4th. A patriotic cow was seen in cahoots with the younger crowd.

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The above photo reminds me of a public art installation, called the Cow Parade, which took place in New York (and, I'm told, everywhere else) in 2000. Bajillions of full sized cows were decorated by artists and littered around the city. The sculptures were then auctioned off to provide money for various charities focused on education, children and those in need.What is public art these days?

One obvious answer would be 'graffiti'. Some people would disagree, declaring that public art should beautify and lift our minds toward an ideal higher than someone's initials.

Recent attempts at public art on a larger scale in New York has received mixed reviews. Many people were not impressed by Christo's 2005 installation of orange flags in Central Park. I personally found them okay. I was inspired by the sheer turnout to enjoy The Gates, rather than the gates themselves.

The current installation of the waterfalls by Olafur Eliasson is not so impressive. This is the sense I get from the people I have spoken to. If you have an alternate opinion about them, I'd love to know about it.

To me, the most successful public art in recent times has to be the Tribute in Light, which commemorated the victims of September 11th. The World Trade Towers were re-created as beacons of light, that could be seen along the length of Manhattan.

The Tribute was a spatial, ethereal and simple gesture. From my experience, the simplest gestures are the most effective.

I actually enjoyed the orange flags, especially when it snowed. The contrast between orange and white was striking. The waterfalls, however, are less inspiring. In the conceptual drawings that advertised the installation, it looked promising. But the reality looks more like a water treatment facility.

I liked the Gates a lot, actually. I worked close to that part of the park and went a couple of times on my lunch break to look around. I hated that job and enjoying the Gates were one of the good things that came of it.

I really wanted to like the waterfalls and I tried. I did get a couple of OK pics but it wasn't as moving as I wanted it to be.

I love the tribute in light. I said that in mixed company once and thought I'd covered my bases by saying that I knew it sucked energy but for a few nights a year it made me feel better. The person I thought would object to the energy suck couldn't wait to tell me that not only was the energy wasteful but that birds were flying through the beams and, I don't know, being blinded and falling to their deaths or something. She just made me feel really guilty for liking the art and I hated that.

Thanks for the comments, folks, especially from the NYers out there. I love hearing the different viewpoints.

I wish the waterfalls project had turned out differently. It seems to me more technological than visual. When I first saw one of the towers from the subway along the East River, I thought it was part of an electrical plant. So naive am I.

Kizz, I dunno what's on the boards for more public art. The electrical bill wasn't even on my mind, but it was when I saw the waterfalls.

Ken Mac, photographing kids can be tricky. I can understand that a guy doing it is way different than a woman. It's a sad world in which we live.

About Me

Welcome to my photo blog. I'm an architect and I live in Brooklyn. I post about New York life, my fiance Mark, his car Clive and our dog.
I take photos daily on a Canon 40D and Leica dLux-5.
Email me if you would like to purchase a print or if you just want to chat. I love to hear from people:
kittylittered @ gmail.com